Bella Vista's new owner says it will build in the spring

I see the "For Sale" signs have come down on the development east of the McAndrews overpass. Can you tell me anything about it?

I see the "For Sale" signs have come down on the development east of the McAndrews overpass. Can you tell me anything about it?

— Sam K., via email

A Vancouver, British Columbia, real-estate development firm is the latest owner of Bella Vista Heights, which straddles East McAndrews just north of Roxy Ann Vineyards.

Cedar Coast Properties Ltd. paid $2.2 million — far from what Bank of the Cascades hoped to get and a fraction of what the 38.5-acre residential area sold for six years ago. The Canadian firm is working with Bend builders Pahlisch Homes and says on its website it expects to begin building next spring.

On its website, Cedar Coast Properties markets developments in British Columbia and Central Oregon — an area that was hit as hard as the Rogue Valley when the building bubble burst.

Bank of the Cascades took possession to satisfy a $7.9 million loan in 2009 then placed an $8 million price tag on the 107-lot project. In January 2006, Excelsior Development Co., led by Jeff Chamberlain, paid Arthur Dubs $13.84 million for the view property, with lots ranging from two-tenths to two-thirds of an acre.

Matters took a turn for the worst last March when a water main broke, leaving a large gouge on the west-facing hillside, creating a stir on the otherwise quiet streets where dogs, walkers and wild critters are the primary users.

At one point the choicest lots were priced at $400,000. When the latest deal closed, the average lot price was just over $20,000.

Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by email to youasked@mailtribune.com. We're sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them.

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